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Class 6(66)
Thin Lizzy: Vagabonds of the Western world
17/03/11 || Daemonomania
Introduction
Being that Saint Paddy’s day is tomorrow (and will have passed long ago when you read this, given the productivity of the GD staff), I’ve decided to grace you all with a lovely piece of Irish rock and roll history. All while drinking a beer and inventing sexually gratifying new uses for the potato. What does Thin Lizzy have to do with metal, exactly? Have you ever heard of Dio, Ozzy, Motorhead, Whitesnake, Skid Row, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc. other bands on and on into infinity? Yes, you have. And each featured TL members. Plus Lizz has a page on MA, so stop being picky fucko.
Songwriting
7.5. ‘Twas the 70’s, an era of experimentation. Some of that experimentation defined what we call awesome tuneage today, whereas some of it flopped. “Vagabonds” showcases some successes and some failures in the branching out department.
Chief among the winners are the Celtic-tinged epic title track, stealthy “Gonna creep up on you”, funk-kay “Black boy”, Mississippi delta cookers “Broken dreams” and “Slow blues”, and the odd but infectious “Little girl in bloom”. I’d be remiss not to mention the frantic “Rocker” and the band’s definitive cover of traditional number “Whiskey in the jar”.
The rest is a mixed bag of not-so-memorable or overdone, with one real clunker in “Randolph’s tango” which is still redeemed by some great guitar work. There’s a reason these albums are still in print folks. Once you hit play for the first time, you’ll feel right at home with a good portion of the Shepherd’s Pie of pleasure that is the Western world.
Production
8. You know how many fucken Class reviews I’ve done where I’ve spewed a line of bullshit about the production? Yes, I have been to a music studio. I have twiddled a knob. I did not suddenly turn into Evil Pete. I did not learn the secrets of making music sound incredible. An aside: throughout the NYC subway system they have these posters advertising a “college” where you can learn these secrets – it lists a bunch of nifty computer programs you’ll master, promises a career in the sex-filled industry of entertainment, and shows a cool dude in a hooded sweatshirt staring straight at you, his eyes brimming with the hidden knowledge of PRODUCTION. Yeah, right.
Oh, and the album sounds great. Nice and warm. Might have been remastered. I don’t have the ultra-fancy two disc new version because I’m cheap, so it might have been re-re-mastered to the point where shamrocks literally sprout from your speakers amidst showers of heroin.
Guitars
8.5. Eric Bell absolutely rips it up (in a classic rock fashion) all over the place on “Vagabonds”, and I’m surprised he didn’t have a longer career. “The rocker” is just balls-to-the-wall guitar central, and his feedback/beautiful solo combo in “Little girl in bloom” is not to be missed. Top ‘o the mornin’ to the truly menacing wah’ed out tone in “Gonna creep…”, and that “Whiskey” lead sticks in yer head forever…shit, gotta stick with rips it up all over the place.
Vocals
7.5. Lynott has a recognizable voice, but isn’t necessarily the most gifted singer to ever open his trap and mumble sweet nothings into the mic. From time to time he even comes across a bit gasp Rod Stewart-y, especially on opener “Mama nature said”. The effect used on his vocals in “Whiskey” makes Phil sound tired, and bored in “Randolph’s tango”. Enough with the complaining. He shines on slow numbers like “Little girl…” and “A song…”. The pain is palpable throughout “Broken dreams”.
Yep, Phil had some skills. Nothing gets my green blood churning like the choo ra loo chant in “Vagabonds”, and the interplay between this chant and the blue eyes chorus at the end of the song is bliss incarnate.
Bass
8.5. Phil also plucks ze bass, and does a damn fine job. Highlights are “Creep” (which is almost entirely bass-driven and certainly laid the foundation for a lot of metal to come) and “Black boys”. On the subject of the latter, this sounds like the product of a collaboration between Sly and the Family Stone and Lynyrd Skynyrd, which we all know could never happen due to LS’s penchant for giant Confederate flags.
Drums
7.5. Somewhat standard classic rock drumming kicked up a few points by the skinbeating in “The rocker” and unshakable grooves of “Gonna creep…” and “Black boys”. Then again, I’ve said before that all this merciless blasting my skull has endured may make it harder for Daemunster to fully appreciate more restrained, less extreme drumwork.
Lyrics
7. Odd mix of subjects here. You’ve got your time-honored cover of a tune with a surprisingly long life, your anti-pollution screed, your odd nonsense about rope ladders, some woman left me content, the biographical “Vagabond”, a rapetrack, a possible commentary on racial relations, and whatever the hell “Tango” is about.
One set of lyrics I really wonder about is “Little girl…”, which is about a pregnant young woman but could hold a hint of cheating/baby mamma drama as well. Is the fetus her soon-to-be-husband’s? Is the daddy of the lines below that fiancé? Got me. Ponder the following with Daemotion:
When your daddy comes home
Don’t tell him till alone
When your daddy comes back
Go tell him the facts
Just relax and see how he’s gonna react
I tell ya what, if I found out my young bride was soon to have some drugged out Dublin guitar slinger’s child, I’d be a little miffed.
Cover
7. The Sword might think about adopting something like this for their next space opera. Speaking of which, anyone else see the Lizzy influence in Austin’s finest, especially on “Warp riders”? Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, some cartoony pictures of the band members looming gigantically above an extraterrestrial landscape. This is how drugs make you feel kids. Try some today.
Logo
7. Some cool cursive going on here, but not the classic blocky Thin Lizzy logo most of us know and love.
Booklet
7.5. My version has a nice little story about the band and Phil inside. Pictures. A draft Guiness with a thick, masculine head comes standard, but tends to spill when the pages are ruffled.
Overall and ending rant
Classic band, great album, can’t go wrong. Like I said before there are some songwriting misfires, but overall the level of Blarney Stone beatdown is consistent. We may never again see the proliferation of talented, original rock and roll groups who can actually play their damn instruments like we did in the 60’s and 70’s. So mourn the death of creativity (and Phil, sob) while spinning “Vagabonds” and envisioning greener musical pastures.
- Information
- Released: 1973
- Label: Deram
- Website: www.thinlizzyonline.com
- Band
- Phil Lynott: vocals, bass, guitars
- Eric Bell: guitars
- Brian Downey: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Mama Nature Said
- 02. The Hero and the Madman
- 03. Slow Blues
- 04. The Rocker
- 05. Vagabond of the Western World
- 06. Little Girl in Bloom
- 07. Gonna Creep Up on You
- 08. A Song for While I’m Away
- 09. Whiskey in the Jar
- 10. Black Boys on the Corner
- 11. Randolph’s Tango
- 12. Broken Dreams
